TEL AVIV—Benjamin Netanyahu is shepherding through Israel’s parliament several laws that would codify the unusual agreements he has made with coalition partners in exchange for their support, the final hurdle in his comeback bid as prime minister.
One such law would grant Aryeh Deri, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish politician and Netanyahu ally convicted less than a year ago of tax evasion, a workaround to the prohibition on convicts serving in the cabinet. The law would allow people recently convicted of crimes to serve as ministers if they had suspended jail terms and didn’t serve time in prison, like Mr. Deri. Mr. Netanyahu has pegged Mr. Deri for three different ministerial positions: health, interior and alternating finance minister.
